Newton Aycliffe 3, Cleethorpes Town 3
Newton Aycliffe recorded their third consecutive draw on Saturday against Cleethorpes Town after coming from 3-1 down with a spirited performance.
Liam Jarvie had Aycliffe’s first chance, but his shot quickly found the hands of Cleethorpes’ Heath Richardson.
It was somewhat against the run of play when Cleethorpes found their first goal, Curtis Bateson dribbled past Marc Costello to finish from a tight angle to make it 1-0 to the visitors in the eighth minute.
Penalty shouts beckoned as it appeared Dan Gallimore had brought down Liam Adamson, the referee didn’t agree and although Kyle Davis did well to get the ball, his shot went well over the bar.
Aycliffe pressure continued, however. This time Jack Naylor went on a run that saw him cross to Davis who was in the perfect position to shoot, but this time his shot went wide.
Liam Adamson has been a paragon of consistency this season when it comes to not only goals, but also work rate, he once again used his blistering pace to outpace several Cleethorpes defenders before slotting the ball past Richardson to make it 1-1.
The game seemed to fizzle out a bit after that, with a long stoppage in play as Jack Naylor was substituted after an injury.
This will have no doubt hurt Aycliffe at the back as Naylor had playing well until this point.
In the 38th minute, Jordon Cooke put the away side in the lead again after a corner wasn’t dealt with by Aycliffe.
The first half ended at 1-1, although everything pointed to the fact 1-1 would certainly not be the final score.
Cleethorpes started the second half on the front foot and Will Annan found Gallimore who crossed the ball into the Aycliffe box, allowing Brody Robertson to capitalise and make it 3-1 to Cleethorpes in the 47th minute.
Small signs of hope began appearing, however, when Ethan Wood’s shot was almost fumbled by Richardson.
The Aycliffe pressure remained, and eventually Cleethorpes folded. A corner whipped into a crowded box resulted in the ball going in to make it 3-2 in the 85th minute.
Whether it was Elgie, Kiernan, Costello, a direct corner goal from Wood or even a Cleethorpes own goal is impossible to say.
But it is undeniable that Aycliffe’s third goal was an own goal. Toby Pascoe did well to receive the ball and fire in the perfect cross, his cross was hit so well Cleethorpes’ Cooke could only knee it into his own net after having no time to react.
The game was now level with just minutes to spare and although both teams had opportunities to claim all three points it finished 3-3.
Aycliffe entertain Stockton Town tonight (Tuesday) followed by another home game against Stocksbridge Park Steels on Saturday (March 9).